The Enduring Gift of Friendship
by Tracy Diane Miller
Summary: This very short story examines Gary and Marissa's enduring and very special friendship.


The Enduring Gift of Friendship  
  
Summary: This very short story examines Gary and Marissa's enduring and very special friendship.  
  
Disclaimer: Early Edition characters belong to whoever created them. No copyright infringement intended. No profit is being made. Some of the dialogue that appears in this story is not my own, but belongs to the writer of the Early Edition episode "Fate."  
  
Author's Notes: How wonderful and blessed we are when we are able to cross paths with people who we can welcome into our hearts as friends. I believe that true friends are angels from God. They enter our lives unexpectedly and remain with us to celebrate our successes. But more importantly, they remain with us to steer us through heartache and help us to heal. And we are better people just by having them in our lives.  
  
I dedicate this story to my two very special long time friends, Karen and Claudine who continue to be a great joy in my life. I also dedicate this story to all of my online friends who have helped me to grow and learn and who share with me the desire to perpetuate and honor Kyle Chandler's work through the magic of fan fiction g.  
  
Author: Tracy Diane Miller  
  
E-mail address: tdmiller82@hotmail.com  
  
  
  
The Enduring Gift of Friendship  
  
She moved through the frenzy of the crowd, through the buzzing voices of hungry reporters and morbid onlookers. She moved with a gait of determination as she approached the Chief of the rescue effort.  
  
The Chief continued bellowing orders. "Search team. You've got one shot at drilling a hole for that search cam. Any further structural movement and I'm going to pull you out."  
  
"Right." A rescue worker acknowledged.  
  
"Whoever he is I don't think that he's got a chance in hell." Another rescue worker echoed.  
  
"He's alive." She injected.  
  
"Ladies, you're going to have to step away." Armstrong informed. Erica remained silent. But she was persistent. Gary was alive, hurt, and he needed help. She had to get them to understand that.  
  
"He's alive. I know he's alive." She insisted her voice desperate.  
  
"Who?" The Chief asked.  
  
"Gary Hobson. His name is Gary Hobson." She revealed.  
  
A rescue worker on a megaphone called out to Gary, but there was no answer. Just structural sounds.  
  
"We got movement on the structure. Get out!" The Chief demanded.  
  
"Please, please. Why can't you just go in and look for him?" She pleaded.  
  
"I know how you feel, ma'am. But given the situation, I can't risk my men unless I have some sign that he's alive." The Chief explained.  
  
"Listen, I know that there's no reason for you to believe me, but I can feel him. And he's alive. Please."  
  
A brief silence.  
  
"Search team, give it another shot." The Chief said.  
  
She swallowed hard as she stood there praying that the search team would find him in that vacant carpet store. He wasn't dead, she was sure of that. If he were dead, she would have known it. But she could feel his heartbeat, faint, yet in tune with her own heart beat. Such was their friendship. She didn't need to see him to be able to feel him or to "see" into his heart. Their friendship had puzzled some people who marveled at the "oddity" of their relationship. But there was nothing odd about the depth of their love for one another. They were two special people whose hearts had led them to each other.  
  
She would never forget the day that she met him. When she showed up for her interview for the receptionist position at Strauss & Associates, she could hear the reluctance in the Human Resources manager's voice about hiring her. But she was smart, well spoken, and tenacious. And she had done her homework. A friend from church had alerted her to this job and had read the ad to her. In its ad, Strauss & Associates had prided itself with being an Equal Opportunity Employer with its hiring decisions made with no regard to race, sex, age, or religious affiliation. The ad also included language that had stuck out in her mind "accommodations for people with disabilities." She suspected that some clever lawyer careful to insulate the brokerage firm from any potential liability threw this language in there. While she didn't view her blindness as a "disability" since it had never hindered her from doing anything that she wanted to do, she was determined that this firm not have any excuse manufactured to deny her this job. Confidently and eloquently she explained why she was the most qualified for the job. She also questioned the accommodations that had been provided for the visually challenged. The Human Resources Manager was speechless. A few moments later, the woman shook her hand and uttered the words "Welcome to Strauss & Associates."  
  
She was shown the front desk. She quickly memorized the layout of everything she would need to do her job. With her back turned from the door she caught a whiff of gabardine followed by a very pleasant voice.  
  
"Hi. You're new aren't you?" The man asked.  
  
She turned around. "Yes. Marissa Clark." She offered her hand.  
  
"Gary Hobson. Nice to meet you." His handshake was warm and inviting. "This place can be...well, it can be interesting. If you need anything just let me know." He said sincerely.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
She soon learned that this Gary Hobson was a stockbroker. Everyone seemed to have a kind word about him, about how polite and helpful he was to the other employees. Everyone except Phillip Pritchard. She recalled instances where Gary was standing at the front desk asking about her weekend or saying that he was running over to the deli and asking her if she wanted anything. She remembered that Pritchard blew across the room like a vengeful volcano. Pritchard made some snide remark about how Gary would be a better stockbroker if he spent more time working on his trades instead of talking at the front desk. And there were other occasions where Pritchard would humiliate Gary for being late for work or for what Pritchard termed the pathetic yield in Gary's accounts. She noted that Pritchard seemed to enjoy making these comments within the earshot of others as if he had some perverse pleasure in humiliating Gary in front of his colleagues. But Gary, if he were hurt by the boss' behavior, didn't show it. Instead, he remained silent.  
  
A relationship that had taken root out of a mutual respect had developed into a friendship. Then something unique happened that allowed their friendship to take on a new dynamic. One day Gary unexpectedly quit his job and then invited her to lunch. She had selected the racetrack where she came to everyday. "One bet, two bucks. Take a shot on a dream." She told him. The dream didn't come. Until that day. Gary kept disappearing. She ended up eating lunch alone. Frustrated, she left the table. She found him placing bets. And he surprised her by winning. Winning big. After lunch, he walked her to the El. As she got on the train, he handed her his winnings, a wad of money, telling her that she could now get the guide dog that she wanted.  
  
His behavior puzzled her. He had quit his job, took her out for lunch and didn't eat, and then dropped 15 grand into her lap before disappearing off into the sunset like a real life Lone Ranger. She wanted to know what was wrong with him. It took some prodding but he finally revealed his secret...he got tomorrow's newspaper today and he was reeling with guilt from a story that he missed. He blamed himself for Sherman's accident.  
  
From the outset, she viewed this mysterious wonderment as a gift from God. But it took awhile convincing him. It hadn't been easy for him these years carrying the burden of knowing the future and saving people that weren't always appreciative of his efforts. But she had always been there for him whenever he needed someone to talk to, to listen to him, and to encourage him. She had also been there to scold him and to knock some sense into his head whenever he needed it. She never wanted to be his conscious, but she would always be his friend.  
  
They had been through so much together. She would never forget how he saved her when she was trapped on that scaffolding during the blackout. She knew that he had an intense fear of heights. She remembered Bernie telling her about the time Gary had gotten stuck in a tree house when he was a kid and how afraid he was. Still, he bravely conquered his childhood fear climbing that scaffolding to rescue her. He even told her some silly story about cashew shells just to keep her calm.  
  
And she had always been there to soothe his weary spirit whenever he felt lost consumed by self-doubt. Except she couldn't reach him after that man had died in that apartment fire. He had shut her out. He blamed himself for Jeremiah's death and considered the appearance of his obituary as The Paper's way of punishing him.  
  
"Maybe...ah...maybe, it's what I have coming, huh?" He said in a whisper.  
  
His words resonated in her mind now. That couldn't be true. It couldn't. The Paper couldn't want to punish him. It was her faith that told her that The Paper came to him for a reason. The Paper was about hope not revenge.  
  
The wait seemed endless. But then her prayers were answered when the search team confirmed that they heard him. Her heart overflowed with joy and gratitude. She said a silent prayer of thanks.  
  
A thunderous applause mingled with Erica's confirmation that he had emerged from that building. Then she heard his labored footsteps. There was a brief silence. She sensed that he was in front of her. She wrapped her arms around him hugging him tightly as if he were some presumed dead soldier granted a second chance, a divine reprieve that sent him into the welcoming bosom of his loved ones.  
  
She could feel him shaking. They both were shaking. But their two hearts were synchronized.  
  
Long ago, she had been endowed with the gift of faith. And each new day offered the gift of hope. But an enduring gift of friendship was a special blessing. For a true friendship was a seed planted by an inexplicable and powerful connection yet nurtured by willing hearts.  
  
The End. 


End file.
